Our Presentation on “Katalysis”

Sergio Larrea Macías

Today I began by working on the final details of the presentation I was making on our program Katalysis. I looked over the last notes that Steve Sherwood, World Neighbors area representative for the Andes, had sent me. I gave the presentation in the Global Water Education Village at 1:00 p.m.

Briefly, I spoke on the main elements of the project. Katalysis is an action-learning process that is applied to the problem of water scarcity. It uses this process creatively to generate social change that is led by grassroots people, the poor rural people that World Neighbors partners with. It is based on guided experiences that a followed up with concrete lessons and coordinated actions. Through a process of critical analysis and development of indigenous, local technologies, Katalysis transforms the dry land culture – a culture that emphasizes water that is not there – to a culture that takes greater advantage of water that is there.

Katalysis has been implemented in high Andean communities in Ecuador and Bolivia, and has been able to create oases out of deserts in hundreds of farms. The approach began to be developed thanks to the Challenge Program on Water and Food. After this funding ended, the methodology continued through a variety of local and regional networks.

The questions from participants at the presentation I gave revolved mainly around a few areas. For example:

1.    How is it that with only US$60,000 you were able to work in two countries and in so many communities?

In answer to this, I explained that the way that World Neighbors works is based on a farmer-to-farmer approach. With this methodology, knowledge and experiences are exchanged in a voluntary way over a period of time. By working this way, we are able to create community-based sustainable social change that is not dependent on external funding.

2.    Social indicators are even more difficult to measure than economic ones. How does the approach manage to value both the social and economic aspects of water?

The indicators are just one measurement – they are not an end in themselves. Katalysis isn’t trying to better measure the changes. Rather, it is trying to facilitate social changes that are created from the ideas of local communities. The indicators can be selected and constructed by the same communities as a social learning tool, but we work to avoid measures that are so complex that only a few people understand them.

3.    In zones that are as dry as North Potosí, is it possible that there just simply isn’t enough water?

Our experience with Katalysis has taught us to first focus on what is available. It is about discovering the water that is lost on the farm itself. By discovering this reality, farmers begin to develop very interesting technological innovations to harvest water. It is possible that water is indeed scarce, but local ingenuity and creativity are key in responding to the challenges.

About 30 people attended the presentation. There were representatives from universities and research institutions (Yale, Bangladesh Institute for Development Studies, Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment); nongovernmental organizations from Peru (AEDES), Egypt (CARE), Moldova (REC), Canada (Canadian Wildlife Federation), Brazil (Fundación Renato Azeredo and Monte Líbano), India (SEWA), Sri Lanka (Neosynthesis Research Centre), Sudan (Water for Sudan), and Afghanistan (Katachel); international agencies like the Global Water Initiative, GEF—Sri Lanka, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the Global Partnership on Output-Based Aid; and public officials from India, Egypt, Turkey and Brazil. Also present was Sophie Nguyen-Khoa, associate director of the Challenge Program on Water and Food.

The presentation can be downloaded from the Web at http://content.worldwaterforum5.org/files/Prizes/KyotoPrizePresentations, where you will also find PowerPoint presentations from the other finalists for the Kyoto Prize.- Sergio